It always seems like I begin every blog post with a statement about how long its been since I've posted last. This time is no different. Its been a while.
Anyway, things have been happening and I'm eager to share them with you!
I've been shooting for The South Magazine for a couple months now and have been enjoying it greatly! Most of what I do for them is "scenes" photographs, which is essentially going to parties, dinners, events, and fundraisers to photograph whoever is there so that The South can put them up on their website. This is The South's way of staying up to date on who is attending what, while also allowing the public to do the same in addition being able to purchase prints. If you follow that previous link you can look through the galleries and find several that I've photographed. On top of working scenes, I was able to photograph my first editorial piece just the other day. I can't give out any specifics about what the article is about, but I'm excited to see it in print.
Classes have been going well for the most part. I'm still loving the heck out of Large Format. I'll definitely have to buy a 4x5 outfit whenever I have the money. I'm looking at Horseman and Toyo, but its so far in the future it doesn't really matter what I'm looking at at this point. Midterms have come and gone, and I need to start thinking about my final. And when I say I need to start thinking about my final, I mean I need to start really racking my brain because I have a one page formal proposal due Monday.
In Project seminar I'm working with the 4x5 Fujifilm instant films FP 100-C and FP 100-B. The tones the FP 100-C put out are beautiful and I love 'em to death, but the film is ridiculously expensive. I've already spent over $100.00 on just a few packs of film. The results are fantastic, though. Here is an example self portrait. I think I'll be shooting similar portraits for the rest of the quarter. The only problem is that I need new people! If you're in the Savannah area and wouldn't mind posing for a hot second send me an E-Mail. I can't promise you the print but I'll surely scan it and give you a digi copy.
As it turns out, my light meter has been giving me false readings. I've had a Sekonic L-398A meter for the past year and a half(?). It would be a great meter if it would work. Its an analog meter with a amorphic silicon photo cell so that it never needs batteries. It doesn't do flash readings but it does do incident and reflected readings. Its easy to read and its relatively inexpensive, especially when considering how much one would be saving without having to buy batteries. But, of course, the unavoidable problem here is that it doesn't work. I've had two of these meters and have experiences problems with both. The first one I got had an issue with the needle. It had WAY too much play, so if moved the meter at all the needle would shift dramatically. And no, I wasn't moving the meter from pitch black to direct sunlight. The second one I got I've had for a while. I think it was working fine for several months, but I never did truly test it to see if it was giving me accurate readings. I guess this would have been a good idea, but its a light meter and I'm supposed to trust it, right? Anyway, I was noticing significant underexposure on my LF negatives and it turns out the meter was giving me false readings. Boo.
I tried to order a Sekonic L-308S Flashmate from Mac-On-Campus, but little did I know it was on back order, so I've been waiting for a while. BTW, if you're a student and you need to buy any kind of photographic equipment, check out MOC. Their prices are pretty impressive.
I guess I'll go ahead and wrap things up. Feels good to be writing again. Expect more posts more often. 'Till next time.
War Eagle.
